Display device



J. P. GLEASON DISPLAY DEVICE Filed April 20, 1955 INVENTOB JOHNP'GLEASON BY M, J

ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 12, 1937 PATENT OFFICE DISPLAY DEVICE John P.Gleason, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor of one-half to Harold E. Pearsonand John L. Pearson, both of El Monte, Calif.

, Application April 20, 1935, Serial No. 17,507

8 Claims.

This invention relates to display devices, and is particularly, but notnecessarily, designed as a holder for a suitable non-perishablesubstance, the color and general appearance of which is green likeparsley and otherwise characterized to enable it to be used instead offresh parsley or other natural greens for garnishing or decorating meatsand other articles of food while displaying same, preferably, but notnecessarily,

1 from within show cases.

A feature of novelty resides in the form and construction of anartificial leaf of thin sheet rubber which, when mounted upon a supportand associated as intended with the meat, will be far more decorativethan was heretofore possible with the use of fresh greens.

Another object is to provide a device of the character specified whichwill be moistureproof and inherently of a nature that will enable it tobe sterilized as and whendesired and the device easily maintained in asanitary condition.

A still further object is to provide a device as set forth which issimple, inexpensive and highly attractive and ornamental when displayedand which will not tarnish the meat which it touches.

A further important feature resides in the novel form of a holder for aparsley simulating material which can be manipulated to effect changesin the configuration of the device, whereby an almost inexhaustiblenumber of fancy and attractive designs can be made and the devicequickly converted from one thereof to another, as and when desired, andwithout changing the structural formation of the device or adding anyaccessories thereto.

A still further object is to provide a display.

device consisting of a small number of parts of non-metallic materialand including a linearly extending support which can bebent into mostany desired geometrical shape to suit the artistic temperament of thedecorator.

, Another object is to provide a device the form of which will produce adecorative area of large lateral dimension, the same characterized bylacy r rhythmically arranged display surfaces which lend admirably tothe attractiveness of the device. A further object is to provide adisplay device in which the parsley simulating elements em- 0 ployed canbe cheaply manufactured from small rectangular pieces of thin sheetrubber and readily rolled into the intended form and fabricated into thecompleted article. 7

Other objects and advantages of the invention 55 will be apparent fromthe following description,

considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which Figure1 is a view in transverse section through the device showing sameapplied;

Figure 2 is a perspective View of the holder or support with portions ofthe decorative material removed;

Figure 3 is a plan view of one of the leaf simulating blanks;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the blank showing same coiled ortwisted into the finished leaf forming element;

Figure 5 is a transverse section through a slightly modified form of thedevice;

Figure 6 is a schematic group View illustrating a variety of shapes intowhich the device can be bent.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a modified form of the holder orsupport.

In carrying the invention into practice, use is made of a holder Itconsisting preferably of a single linearly extending strip of rubber orother well-known bendable material of any desired configuration in crosssection, but preferably of an angular shape in which the opposite sidewalls converge downwardly, thus providing the strip with a broad topsurface H and a base surface it of less width than said surface ll.Formed in the strip are vertical, diagonally disposed, elongatedrecesses l3. Said recesses are arranged in a longitudinal series fromone end of the strip to the other end thereof and, as illustrated, theyare disposed in close overlapping relationship to each other. Therecesses open onto the'top surface ll of thestrip and arepreferablytapered so that their end walls converge inwardly anddownwardly.

In Figure 3 is shown a leaf-simulating element it of thin sheet rubber,preferably of a suitable shade of green. The element is formed toprovide a substantially rectangular blank, the edges of which are cut insimulation of leaves, of which three are shown in the present embodimentof the invention, each having its body portion slit and suitablyserrated in simulation of an additional leaf. When fabricating thedevice, as many of the blanks it can be employed as desired, and

each thereof can be spirally twisted from adjacent to the corner C, sothat the blank when thus fully twisted will be provided with a lowerslightly tapered stem l5 and an upper lacy and. fluffy display portionit in which the serrated leaf-like parts will gracefully flare and bendrelatively to each other. After the blank has been twisted as juststated the free end thereof can be firmly cemented against the shank.The recesses i3 may be of any suitable length depending upon the numberof leaf simulating elements desired to be inserted therein. In practice,a length calculated to receive three of the elements has proved entirelysatisfactory. The leaf-simulating elements may be made in differentsizes, but are preferably cut from a blank which measures about one anda half or two inches along each of its sides. In the present embodimentof the invention, I use as stated three of said elements for each recessIS, the stems it of the elements being inserted in said recess andsecurely confined between the walls thereof either entirely byfrictional engagement therewith or by cementing same in said recesses,it being of course understood that they should be secured very firmly inplace in such recesses, so that they cannot be accidentally displaced orseparated from the holder It in the ordinary handling thereof.

By diagonally extending the recesses 13 across the broad upper surface Hof the strip Iii, the elements M which extend from one recess overlapthe elements of the next adjacent recesses, so that the lace-like orfluffy display portions gracefully overlap one another or run togetheras a more or less solid mass of appreciable fullness or depth from oneend of the strip ill to the other end thereof.

The strip it is formed with horizontal openings i'i through which thepins ill of a base member l9 can be removably extended and the stripheld in a display position within a showcase as shown in Figure l. Abase member, such as disclosed, need not be used, and at the option ofthe decorator the strip can be placed in any desired position relativelyto the article of food to be decorated or garnished. As the strip i8 isformed of rubber or other Well-known freely bendable material, it may becurved into a circle to extend around a roast or object, or it may bebent into sinuous form and held in this form by banking spaced apartobjects against the opposite sides of the strip. In the form of theirivention shown in Figure 5, however, a core 29 in the form of ductilemetal is embodied in the strip whereby to retain the strip in any one ofthe shapes shown in Figure 6.

In the form of the invention shown in Figure '7 of the drawing, themember li a is in all respects the same as the member ill first abovedescribed, except that instead of the diagonal. slots therein disclosed,the member is formed with longitudinal grooves we, in which the stemportions of the leaf-simulating elements can be inserted and secured inposition by cement.

Many modifications and changes in details will occur to those skilled inthe art without depart ing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

as defined in the claims, and I, therefore, desire to have the foregoingdescription and the illustrations used in connection therewith regardedin the illustrative sense rather than in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is: V

1. In a device of the class described, a member having a display surfacecharacterized by individual blanks of sheet material formed insimulation of leaves and each said sheet being rolled spirally andprovided with a stem secured to said member.

2. In a device of the class described, a member having a display surfacecharacterized by substantially similar sheets of rubber cut insimulation of leaves and each wound spirally to provide a fluffy upperstructure and 2. depending stem, the latter secured to said member.

3. In a device of the class described, a member having a display surfacecharacterized by individual thin blanks of sheet rubber, the sheets eachformed with angularly related serrated edges in simulation of leaves andeach said sheet being rolled spirally from one corner thereof to providean upper fiuffy and lace-like structure and a lower stem, the lattersecured to said member.

4. In a device of the class described, a substantially rectangular pieceof thin sheet material, having its edge formed in simulation of leavesand said sheet rolled spirally from one corner thereof to provide anupper fluffy structure and a lower stem portion.

5. In a device of the class described, a substantially rectangular pieceof thin sheet material formed to provide portions in simulation ofleaves, and each leaf simulating portion being cut and serrated withinits body structure to provide an additional leaf simulating portion, andsaid sheet being rolled spirally from one of its corners so that saidleaf simulating portions combine to provide a fluffy upper structurehaving a stem at its lower end.

6. A display device comprising leaf simulating means, and a holder fromwlL'ch said means is displayed; said leaf simulating means comprising aplurality of substantially identical square pieces of non-metallic sheetmaterial, each formed along at least three of its edges to provide acorresponding number of portions simulating the leaves of a plant andeach of said pieces being rolled to present a fluffy massed appearanceof said portions and to provide a stern which is received and held bythe holder.

7. A display device comprising a sheet of nonmetallic material boundedby substantially rectilinear angularly related sides certain of whichare formed along their edges to provide a corresponding number ofportions simulating the leaves of a plant; said sheet being rolled intogenerally conical form to present at one end a fluffy massed appearanceof said portions and to provide a stemv at the other end; and meanscoacting with the stem to' hold the rolled sheet.

8. A display device comprising a sheet of nonmetallic material boundedby substantially rectilinear angularly related sides certain of whichare formed along their edges to provide a corresponding number ofportions simulating the leaves of a plant; said sheet being rolled intogenerally conical form to present at one end a fluffy massed appearanceof said portions and to provide a stem at the other end; means co-actingwith the stem to hold, the rolled sheet; at least certain of saidportions being slit, and the edges of each slit being formed to simulateadditional leaves of the plant when the sheet is rolled as aforestated.v

JOHN P. GLEASON.

